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Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..

Dinosaurs or literary caviar? What real people think about newspapers

I wrote about this news recently in an article called Bye Bye PI and several readers took the time to post their comments. I want to thank all of them for sharing their viewpoints (publishers, journalists, readers, etc.) and since I know not everyone has time to read through all of the comments, I decided to post them here because I think they are quite insightful and I think this issue is important:

Reader 1: unknown

“A lot of cities can’t even support a single newspaper these days, such as Detroit, where they are going to 4 times a week, or possibly 3. So for a city to have two newspapers is a great wealth. I wish everyone involved the greatest of luck.”

Reader 2: MedicallyCorrect

“Whitney has some good ideas – but missed the main concept of a newspaper. Readership wants to be able to trust in the accuracy of a news source. Factual, verifiable information is what people want! The Seattle PI became nothing more than yellow journalism. Stories must inform the public – not try to indoctrinate them to a position or viewpoint. The editors missed this at the PI. To stay in the news business – you need to be in the news business and do it accurately.”

Reader 3: TheHairFarmer

“Those are some great suggestions Whitney – and your focus group for Eastside Business did generate a lot of great suggestions and feedback. Unfortunately, with limited resources it will not be possible to put them all into action. Still the same, we will continue to listen to and appreciate all our readers, subscribers and advertisers.

Do agree that many cities are no longer able to support even one daily paper – the industry is changing rapidly and I’m not sure online revenue for a traditional newspaper is enough to support the staff necessary to make it happen.

In the end, it is the readers, advertisers and potential advertisers who will be making the decisions on whether various media (especially daily newspapers) will survive. It takes a lot of money to pay the costs involved as well as very hard working staff – if the revenue ceases to come in, the media in question will eventually go away.

Both the PI and American City Business Journals have done great things online, but over time, I’m not sure it is enough. I love the fact that the PI started early with offering reader blogs – and allowing readers to make comments on all their online news stories. The Times really missed the boat and has finally jumped on, but has not done it well. I think it is too little too late for them.

Elizabeth Case has no doubt done a great job for PSBJ and I hope to be able to meet her in the near future. In the end, her effectiveness will be judged on revenue created – and I wish her the best of luck.

Don’t necessarily agree with medicallycorrect’s concept of a newspaper. Even though readers want and deserve the truth, there are many different types of newspapers (and other types of medias) and they all serve a function.

I obviously have a lot to say about the future of newspapers, advertising and other medias. I’ll be writing more about these subjects in the near future – both in Eastside Business newspaper and on the Eastside Life blog.”

Reader 4: unknown

“Once newspapers stopped reporting the news and started trying to direct it, the decline of newspapers was inevitable. I have been reading the PI since the 1960s and the politics on its editorial pages were always a little bit left of center, even then. But in the last three decades they trudged inexorably further to the left. Worse yet, the bias seeped off the editorial pages onto the front page. Like many newspapers whose journalists are hard core leftists, the product they deliver is now too biased to even be worth reading.

Time for these liberal dinosaurs to die off.”

Reader 5: candaceshughes

“I am a daily subscriber to The Arizona Republic and not familiar with the PI, but as a former daily newspaper reporter I see newspapers and Web sites offering less content. Advance stories about meetings of school boards, planning comissions and city councils need to be written along with full in person coverage of these meetings. Watching on the Web or sending e-mails is not the same as appearing in person to discuss a topic that has had thorough coverage in advance. This also will help with ensuring the importance of open meeting and public records laws.”

Reader 6: unknown
“Whitney- just curious- were you ever an actual journalist? With that out of the way, I think you make some good points. But they are not new points. Many of us in the field tried (fruitlessly) to implement some of these thoughts at our own papers. But management NEVER gave us the time of day. Even now, as the ship is sinking, they are late to the table in every way. These tips meant something 5-10 years ago. But now? It’s too late. Newspapers have dumbed down, they say, because they are giving readers what they want. But I don’t think that’s true and I never did. The biggest problem is that newspapers have not been willing to take the internet seriously and they haven’t been willing to spend the money to make their web sites appropriate partners to the print edition. My paper did conduct focus groups but I think they asked the wrong questions. I’m sorry to be so doom and gloom but 16 years of recent journalism experience, which has forced me to go into PR (you want to talk about a bureauacracy?) has embittered me. These newspaper owners have reaped what they’ve sown- no cohesive vision and the sole desire to make money rather than report the news.”

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Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate..